AHL Journal: A look back at preseason predictions

Or, “my good.” Either way, it's become an
annual ritual for this space, a late-season look at the
early-season assessments of the AHL's New England contingent.

The league did away with the New England-only Atlantic Division
this year, but left all seven teams in the Eastern Conference to
fight for playoff positions.

So this year, as with the previous “mea culpa”
columns, we'll engage in the sport of second guessing. How we
thought each of the “Seaside Seven” would fare, and
how, with the regular season winding down, they really are
doing.

Taken in preseason order:

Springfield Falcons

What we said: “The Birds snagged the 10th
all-time leading goal getter, Alexandre Giroux, as a free agent,
then enticed crafty center Martin St. Pierre back from Europe to
get him the puck. Jackets have some good young returning talent,
too, especially D David Savard and RW Tomas Kubalik.”

What we should have said: “The Birds are playing
meaningful games in late March for a change, but are still on the
outside looking in. Giroux has been good (24-26-50), but not
great.”

Providence Bruins

What we said. “Performance, not player development,
prompted a change in coaches. New head man Bruce Cassidy will have
benefit of a more experienced sophomore C Max Sauve, a healthy C
Trent Whitfield for a full year and proven vet LW Josh Hennessy
(Brockton, Mass.). Late-season pickup Anton Khudobin will give
them an All-Star presence
in net.”

What we should have said. “A change in coaches (Cassidy
for Rob Murray) hasn't produced a change in fortunes as they are in
jeopardy of missing the playoffs for a third consecutive year. A
three-game winning streak, however, has pushed them back into the
pack of contenders. Khudobin, now healthy, missed a month with a
wrist injury, which set the Peebs back a lot.”

Bridgeport Sound Tigers

What we said. “Rising coaching star (and former P-Bruins
captain) Brent Thompson makes his AHL bench debut. The Tigers will
be sound in net with Kevin Poulin and Mikko Koskinen, and
youngsters RW Rhett Rakhshani and D Calvin de Haan are true
blue-chippers.”

What we should have said. “Dead in the water at Christmas,
the Sound Tigers have been phenomenal, going 19-1-2 in the first
two months of 2012. Poulin has been exceptional, but more
importantly, this bunch has bought into Thompson's
message.”

Portland Pirates

What we said. “Newly affiliated with the 'Yotes, Phoenix
has provided some high-quality vets such as D Dean Arsene, D Tyler
Eckford, C Patrick O'Sullivan and G Justin Pogge. The youngsters,
however, are another matter. The only former Phoenix first-rounder
on the Opening Night squad was D Chris Summers.”

What we should have said. “We were right about the
scarcity of prospects. Andy Miele, the former Hobey Baker winner,
shows promise, but has just four goals since New Year's Eve. Pogge
was more hot than cold in net, and an unhappy O'Sullivan's stay was
short and anything but sweet.”

Manchester Monarchs

What we said. “Monarchs are always heavily laden with kids
and will be this year, too. The only difference will be that many
will return from last year.”

What we should have said: “If this year was a movie made
on L.A.'s East Coast 'B' lot, it would have been called ‘The
Return of the Streak'. Little guys Justin Azevedo (24-19-43) and
Brandon Kozun (19-20-39) have had pretty big years.”

Connecticut Whale

What we said. “Rookies D Tim Erixon and C Ryan Bourque
(Boxford, Mass.) will make the Whale interesting. But can respected
coach Ken Gernander turn this collection of castoffs and free
agents into a playoff contender?”

What we should have said. “Yes. And that's without any
particular contribution from Bourque.”

Worcester Sharks

What we said. “With injured All-Star goalie Alex Stalock
not due back until February, have plenty of net issues. No premium
picks to be found among the youngsters (except ex-BC D Nick
Petrecki) and newcomer C Ben Guite, one of the few battle-tested
vets.”

What we should have said. “Net was no issue, with
second-year man Tyson Sexsmith playing well enough to make Stalock
expendable (shipped to Peoria) upon his return. As for the rest of
the bunch …”

The bizarre thing is that any or all of the seven could still
find themselves among the top eight who will make the playoffs. Or
be out of them, with one bad week.

Azevedo was named the AHL's Player of the Week, for scoring
goals in all three games (four in total with two assists) on the
weekend. Included were a pair of shorties. … Giroux notched
his 700th career AHL point on Sunday in the Falcons' 5-3 loss at
Wilkes-Barre. He is 23rd on the AHL's all time scoring list, and is
also tied for seventh (with Mitch Lamoureux) in goal scoring, with
364. … As college and junior seasons wind down, more players
are making their way into the AHL on amateur tryout contracts.
Among the latest is UMaine defenseman Will O'Neill (Salem, Mass.),
who signed to play in St. John's.